Fire!!
I married a former volunteer fireman, so I have a healthy respect for fire and it’s safety requirements. That being said, there is something so fun about watching a cotton ball burn!
I am slowly falling into the world of prepping. I know that word has many different meanings to people. It could be the “lunatic” survivalist living off the grid in the Rockies or it could be the lady down the street who has a month’s worth of food stored in the basement. I think I’ll wind up somewhere in between when all is said and done.
I’ve been piecing together 72 hour bags (I will blog about them when they’re done), and Tony and I’s bags will include fire starter kits (Again, more to come on that).
While looking into the fire kits, I found this very detailed website with instructions on how to make a very practical fire starter. The original blogger made 600 of them, I started smaller as I’m seeing how it all works.
To start, you need:
•ziploc baggie
•cotton balls
•Vaseline (I did use the Walmart brand because the main active ingredient was the same and it’s much cheaper)

Put a handful of cotton balls in the bag, add enough Vaseline to coat the cotton balls, then just start mushing it all up.
This was a strangely gratifying process because it feels really weird in the bag and you don’t get all slimy.

After letting them set for a few hours, until Tony got home, we of course had to try them out.

All you have to do is take the cotton ball and tear it open, yes it will be slimy, but in a survival scenario, you’re just trying to stay warm.

This little experiment also gave us the benefit or trying out my firestarter that I bought in the camping section of Walmart. A match or lighter will work as well.

Now part of you may be wondering why you don’t just use your match or lighter to light your kindling, and I have the answer. After watching this cotton ball burn for over 3 minutes, I realized how easy it would be to lay kindling over it until it lit. A match will not stay lit in strong winds and you don’t want to use all of your lighter fluid trying to start a fire.

These cotton balls, in a protective coat of the Vaseline, will continue burning in high winds. The original blogger also said that they will be waterproof once the Vaseline has set.

All in all, this is a fun little prepping, or even just a camping, supply to have in your arsenal.

This is another easy one. My husband informed me this was a little redundant because we have a lantern already. My thought process is that we might not always have a lantern! What if the apocalypse comes and we need extra light?! I’m not one of those end of the world or government collapse paranoia freaks, but I like the idea of maybe being ready. Not to the point of building a bunker in my basement, but I think there is valid reasoning to having food supplies set aside. Something this simple is also a good tip to have in my arsenal.
Empty milk jug and a flash light (or a headlamp would be preferable) and you have a gently glowing lantern that lightens a room enough to see. I got lucky enough that we have a few headlamps in the house. My mom bought them for my kids from the volcano national park in Hawaii. Very fun to play with, even when not using them for a lantern lighter!
Original pin claims to be at http://beat-goes-on0.blogspot.com/ however I couldn’t find the directions on the site, but this is pretty much a “what you see is what you get” kind of thing. If you can’t figure out what to do based on this picture, then you may have bigger problems in the coming apocalypse…..
Just saying